This program was created to develop upland wildlife
habitat, wetland wildlife habitat, threatened and endangered species habitat,
fish habitat and other types of wildlife habitat.
TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:
Direct Payments for Specified Use. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Technical assistance is provided to develop a Wildlife Habitat Development
Plan for eligible participants. Cost-share payments may be made to implement
wildlife habitat practices. Up to seventy-five percent cost-share is available
from NRCS to reimburse participants for installing practices beneficial to
wildlife.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility: A participant may be an
owner, landlord, operator, or tenant of eligible lands. Limited resource
producers, small scale producers, producers of minority groups, Federally
Recognized Indian Tribal Governments, Alaska natives, and Pacific Islanders
are encouraged to apply.
Beneficiary Eligibility: A participant may be an
owner, landlord, operator, or tenant of eligible lands. Limited resource
producers, small-scale producers, producers of minority groups, Federally
Recognized Indian Tribal Governments, Alaska natives, and Pacific Islanders
are encouraged to apply.
Credentials/Documentation: Evidence that
applicant has control over land to be entered into contract and submits an
acceptable Wildlife Habitat Development Plan for the land unit of concern that
incorporates needed wildlife habitat practices. This program is excluded from
coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.
Pre-application Coordination: None. This program is
excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102 and E.O. 12372.
Application Procedure: Program participation is
voluntary. The applicant applies at the local USDA service center on Form
NRCS-LPT-1. Applications may be filed at any time during the year. The
participant, With the Natural Resources Conservation Service develops a
Wildlife Habitat Development Plan for the land unit of concern. The
participant's plan serves as the basis for the WHIP cost-share agreement.
Technical assistance, and cost-share payments may be provided to apply the
needed wildlife habitat practices within a time schedule specified by the
plan. A participant may apply one or more wildlife habitat practices in a
cost-share agreement.
Award Procedure: NRCS may designate a wildlife
habitat type or a region of special wildlife habitat concern as a priority.
The priorities are designated by the State Conservationist based on
recommendations of local work groups which are convened by the local
conservation district and in consultation with the State Technical Committee.
NRCS will give special consideration to applicants who have Wildlife Habitat
Development Plans that address wildlife habitat concerns consistent with state
priorities. Applications will be ranked and selected for funding.
Deadlines: None.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: None.
Appeals: A participant may appeal any adverse
determination to NRCS.
Renewals: Not applicable.
ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula and Matching Requirements: Installation of
cost-share practices to develop wildlife habitat can be funded by cost-sharing
up to 75 percent of the total cost of establishing the practice by NRCS.
Program participants or nonfederal partners provide the remaining 25 percent.
Other practices may be required to be installed without program payments.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: The WHIP
cost-share agreement period is a minimum of 5 to 10 years. Agreements of
shorter duration are permitted under limited wildlife emergency circumstances.
Obligations for assistance are tied to the schedule for applying wildlife
habitat practices included in the Wildlife Habitat Development Plan used as
the basis for contract. Payments are made when the participant and NRCS
certify that a conservation practice is completed in accordance with the
cost-share agreement.
POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports: No reports. NRCS and the participant
conduct an annual status review during the length of the cost-share agreement
that includes maintenance of completed contract items and need for deletion or
addition of cost-share agreement items.
Audits: NRCS makes periodic random reviews of the
operation and maintenance of the cost-share agreement items during the life
span of the conservation practice. Participants are subject to audit by the
Office of Inspector General, USDA.
Records: Maintained in the NRCS state office and
Federal records centers for specified number of years.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION:
Account Identification: 12-3322-0-1-302.
Obligations: (Cost-Share Agreements) FY 01
$12,702,038; FY 02 est $849,164; and FY 03 est $0. (Salaries and Expenses) FY
01 $2,374,990; FY 02 est $38,331; and FY 03 est $0.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance:
Average contract payments are estimated to be $4,500.
States began implementing WHIP in fiscal year 1998. Over 1.4 million acres are
enrolled in the program. The average agreement encompassed 165 acres. Of all
acres enrolled, 89 percent are designed for upland habitat, 12 percent for
wetland habitat, 3 percent were riparian habitat, and nearly 1 percent
in-stream aquatic habitat. It is estimated that approximately 15 percent of
the total acreage enrolled in WHIP will benefit threatened and endangered
species.
REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
7 CFR Part 636. Program is announced through news media and in announcements
to agricultural producers, farm and ranch owners and operators in the county.
Program manuals, handbooks, and leaflets issued by NRCS and FSA.
INFORMATION CONTACTS:
Regional or Local Office: For more information on
this and other related conservation programs, consult the local telephone
directory where your land is located for location of the USDA service center.
NRCS, FSA, and many local conservation districts are located in USDA service
centers. For a list of NRCS State Office telephone numbers and addresses, see
Appendix IV of the Catalog.
Headquarters Office: Department of Agriculture,
Natural Resources Conservation Service, P. O. Box 2890, Washington, DC 20013.
ATTN: Director, Watersheds and Wetlands Division. Telephone: (202) 720-3534.
FAX: (202) 720-2143. Program Contact: Martha Joseph at (202) 720-7157.
Web Site Address: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov.
EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
Restoring native grasslands; improving aquatic habitat with obstruction
removal, fish passages and streambank stabilization; estuarine habitat
improvement; cave closures for bat habitat; native tree planting; invasive
plant control.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
Applications will be ranked and selected for funding based on: The wildlife
habitat benefits derived and the extent the cost-share agreement will assist
in achieving the wildlife habitat priority goals and objectives in the area
the land unit is located.
